The University of South Florida’s Center for Justice Research and Policy (CJRP) hosted a research and policy showcase in October highlighting student research related to issues in the justice system and also recognized and honored those working in the field.
CJRP Co-Directors Dr. Bryanna Fox (left) and Dr. Edelyn Verona (right) welcome attendees and address awardees. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
“I want to congratulate the center for what it's done in a very short time,” said College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Magali Michael. “The focus of the center is on building a safe, equitable and just community, which is crucial. In [the center’s] research, it helps to find ways to do that, by investigating a variety of ways in which we can find solutions to get rid of some of the barriers to equity and also use evidence-based policies to improve the welfare of all.”
Dr. Edelyn Verona, professor in the Department of Psychology in CAS, co-founded the CJRP with Dr. Bryanna Fox, professor in the Department of Criminology at the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.
The center, which is the first of its kind in Florida and approved by the Board of Governors as a state-level center, consists of an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners focused on the study of crime, violence, and criminal and social justice policy, with a goal of applying research to enhance the evidence base of policing, corrections and court practices.
The CJRP has also contributed to the Tampa Policing Taskforce and, more recently, is working with the Tampa Police Department on a National Institute of Justice grant to fight gun violence within the community. The center is also working with other communities in the Tampa Bay area, including Pasco and St. Petersburg, on various criminal and social justice projects.
The research and policy showcase consisted of both graduate and undergraduate student posters encompassing various aspects of justice research, including criminal justice, social justice, and policy analysis. Three doctoral students also presented their work to a packed audience.
Two community awards and one academic award were also presented during the showcase.
Former Captain of the Tampa Police Department, Paul Lusczynski, and Executive Director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough Freddy Barton were named recipients of the CJRP’s ‘Making an Impact Award’ at the event, and Associate Professor in the CBCS’s Department of Criminology, Dr. Chae Jaynes, was named the recipient of the 2023 Seed Funding Award from the CJRP.
Fox said Lusczynski first interacted with USF in 2015 when he was captain of the Violent Crimes Bureau.
“[Paul] was passionately dedicated to reducing gun violence in our city when it was at its highest rates and coming up with alternative ideas, not just the standard, ‘let’s arrest our way out of the problem’” Fox said. “Paul regularly cites research, and he reads research, and he’s gladly participating in research.”
He’s overseen more than $8 million in grant research that was awarded to the Tampa Police Department in the last 20 years to support the department’s violent crime and opioid initiatives.
(From left) Freddy Barton, executive director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough; Dr. Chae Jaynes, associate professor of criminology; and Paul Lusczynski, former captain of the Tampa Police Department. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
“[Freddy] has worked with everyone available in this community to prevent violence and promote safe and healthy communities, which I love,” Verona said when presenting the award to Barton.
Barton has served as Executive Director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough for the past eight years, a violence prevention collaborative created in 2013 to change the way local policymakers address violence, shifting the focus away from a public safety model to a public health model and a focus on prevention and intervention approaches.
Jaynes, whose area of research focuses on employment within the criminal justice system, will use the seed grant she was awarded to address criminal justice employment issues and examine ways to improve retention among employees working within criminal justice agencies and incentivize potential applicants to apply.
“When I saw [Jaynes] I knew she was going to be a star,” Fox said when presenting Jaynes her award. “I’ve just been impressed more and more, and she’s always jumping over what I expect.”
Other notable community members in attendance included Tampa Police Department Deputy Chief Calvin Johnson and U.S. District Judge John Badalamenti.
Deputy Chief Johnson described how the research coming out of the CJRP is what provides the crucial answers needed for policymakers as they work to address criminal justice issues.
“Don’t think that what you’re doing here is not going anywhere,” he said. “Folks need your intelligence. There is a big impact that you have in uplifting the health of the community. It’s not going to happen overnight. It's going to be like moving the ship in the ocean. It's going to take time. But hopefully, this is something new that you can start and then as the year goes on more students can carry that torch. It is for the greater good of our community. So, I'm glad to be here.”
Three CJRP doctoral students presented their latest findings to attendees in break-out sessions, including:
- Alora McCarthy, clinical psychology
“Using a jail-adapted dialectical behavior therapy intervention to reduce interpersonal violence in an incarcerated population” - Bailey Hall, clinical psychology
“Psychopathy and Mock Juror Decision-Making” - Lexi Gill, criminology
“The ‘Hot’ Social Networks and Places Involved in Gun Crime”
Tampa Police Department Deputy Chief Calvin Johnson thanks the CJRP presenters and
students. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
Eight students shared their latest findings during the research and policy showcase
via poster presentations. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
“I can tell you that this center is unique, and I am going to commit and continue to provide as much time as it needs for this evidence-based research to promote policy changes that make a difference,” Badalamenti said. “I applaud the center and the hard work of the skeleton staff and the tireless work of Professors Verona and Fox; and I hope and pray that the synergy in this room translates into many years of support and the continued support of the University of South Florida to make this center into what it's capable of, which is head and shoulders above the amazing work it’s already doing.”
To learn more about the CJRP and opportunities to support the center, please contact Director of Development, Anyssa Hining.